Latest budget cuts will spare few

State budget crisis

TALLAHASSEE -- Less money for schools, more debt for the state and dwindling reserve accounts are among the grim realities Florida legislators will battle over when they return to the capital today to whack an additional $2.3 billion from a budget that's bleeding red.

The special session aimed at keeping Florida's finances afloat starts another season of belt-tightening in a state whose growth-machine economy has sputtered to a stop.

The public will feel the pain, too: Fees -- especially court fees, such as filing costs for divorces -- are likely to rise.

And the 12-day special session, with a final vote scheduled for Jan. 16, is merely a prelude to deeper cuts coming in the spring. When legislators return for the full session March 3, they must write an austere 2009-10 budget that's in line with tax collections sagging nearly a third from initial projections.

Lawmakers set strict parameters for the special session, ensuring that tax increases and a gambling deal with the Seminole Tribe of Florida are off-limits.

"You would think if things are as desperate as they appear to be, we would be looking at every option," said Rep. Ron Saunders, D-Key West. "We're coming into a very difficult situation with our hands tied."

But the Legislature's Republican leaders have another mission in mind: They want to dig deeper into government coffers by slicing "recurring" expenses that must be paid every year, rather than relying on one-time savings by cutting items such as construction projects.

"We're looking at, God forbid, $5 billion in cuts for [the 2009-10 fiscal year]," said Rep. David Rivera, the Miami Republican who oversees the House's education and economic-development budget committee. "The point is, the more we look at recurring cuts now, the better position we'll be in when we come back."

Most proposed cuts so far aim to avoid shrinking Florida's 147,000-employee base. For example, the state Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles would shave $17.6 million by delaying new vehicle and uniform purchases for state troopers, closing drivers-license offices earlier on Saturdays and slashing salaries.

Optional health coverage for pregnant women could get nixed. The State Department might shutter museums and stop distributing flags to schools and local governments.

Education -- the state's biggest expense and one that has avoided the most painful cuts -- stands to take the biggest hit in the special session. Spending on K-12 faces $360 million in reductions under Gov. Charlie Crist's proposal. Republicans argue classroom cuts are unavoidable in the recession.

"Let's be clear: When we're talking about cuts, we're talking about job losses," said Orlando state Rep. Geraldine Thompson, the House Democratic leader pro tem.

Education officials are bracing for a fight, noting most of their budgets go toward salaries and more cuts would "come on the backs of our children," as Broward Superintendent James Notter put it.

"There's a clear anxiety level, and it's one step away from panic," Notter said of the specter of deeper cuts.

Another flash point will be the fee increases, which could raise court costs for divorce filings, tenant evictions and seat-belt violations. Senate Democratic Leader Al Lawson of Tallahassee blasted the proposed increases as another "tax noose" targeting the "little guy."